John Suckling

Sir John Suckling (10 February 1609 – after May 1641) was an English poet, prominent among those renowned for careless gaiety and wit – the accomplishments of a cavalier poet. He also invented the card game cribbage. He is best known for his poem "Ballade upon a Wedding". Birth Suckling was born at Whitton, in the parish of Twickenham, Middlesex, and baptized there on 10 February 1609. His father, Sir John Suckling, was Secretary of State under James I and Comptroller of the Household of Charles I. His mother was Elizabeth Cranfield, sister of Sir Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex. Life The poet inherited his father's estate at the age of 18, having attended Trinity College, Cambridge from 1623 and enrolled at Gray's Inn in 1627. His intimates included Ben Jonson, Thomas Carew, Richard Lovelace, Thomas Nabbes and especially John Hales and Sir William Davenant, who later furnished John Aubrey with information about him. In 1628, Suckling left London for France and Italy, returning before the autumn of 1630, when he was knighted. In 1631 he volunteered for a force raised by the Marquess of Hamilton to serve under Gustavus Adolphus in Germany. He was back at Whitehall in May 1632, having taken part in the Battle of Breitenfeld and several sieges. Suckling's poetic talent was one of many accomplishments, but commended him especially to Charles I and his queen, Henrietta Maria. He says of himself ("A Sessions of the Poets") that he "prized black eyes or a lucky hit at bowls above all the trophies of wit." Aubrey says he invented the game of cribbage and relates that his sisters came weeping to a bowling green at Piccadilly to dissuade him from play, lest he lose their portions.